by Manal Barakat, SeaNewsEditor

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump announced the suspension of the 25% tariffs he had imposed earlier this week on most goods from Canada and Mexico.

The exemptions, which include goods covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) free trade treaty, will expire on 2 April, when Trump said he would implement a global regime of reciprocal tariffs on all trading partners.

In response, Canada announced it would delay its planned retaliatory tariffs on American products until 2 April.

Earlier on 5 March, President Trump granted a one-month tariff exemption for automakers in Mexico and Canada following negotiations with industry stakeholders.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Wednesday that the President is providing a one-month exemption on any automobiles coming through the USMCA.

Despite the temporary relief, reciprocal tariffs are still set to take effect on 2 April.

The 25% tariff on steel and aluminium was not suspended and will go into effect on 12 March.

Meanwhile, the additional 10% levy on Chinese imports went into effect on 4 March.